Replication Crisis Fails to Replicate

The replication crisis in social psychology has been ongoing for several years now.

The crisis was brought on by the attempted replication of 100 social psychology studies, of which only 1/3 replicated. This sent the field into a panic and caused social psychologists to reevaluate their scientific methodology and incentive structures.

Unfortunately, that may have all been for naught. An elite group of Harvard psychologists have attempted to replicate the results of the infamous 100 of which 1/3 failed to replicate studies of the replication crisis.

To their surprise, the attempt to replicate the replication crisis did itself not replicate, casting doubt on the entire replication crisis.

“If the replication crisis didn’t replicate, then how we can even trust social psychology at all? Nothing ever replicates, not even our failure to replicate,” said Dr. Ron Fisher, who once won the award for ‘Smartest at Harvard’.

“This shows that our failures even fail to fail, our defeats aren’t even self-defeating. What kind of science is this? I want answers.”

The news has disturbed social psychologists all around the world, who fear their field is plagued by unresolvable issues. Learning that the studies which brought these issues to their attention have themselves also failed to replicate has been tremendously stressful.

“I just can’t take this ambiguity anymore,” said Dr. Jerome Brown, another Harvard professor whose social psychology work earned him a MacArthur Genius grant. “I’ve had several colleagues take their own lives in the last week, the stress is too severe.”

“We don’t know who we are anymore, we don’t know if our work means anything anymore. The only thing we do know is that the replication crisis failed to replicate, and that’s the one thing we wish we didn’t know at all. This is serious.”

Once they secure funding, Dr. Fisher, Dr. Brown, and several other Harvard psychologists plan on attempting to replicate the failed replication of the replication crisis.